First impressions: can’t beat ’em sometimes. Like when you look inside the Megane Trophy-R and see the race seats with their adjustable aluminium runners and wild red harnesses.

But look again, and second impressions start to kick in. This is a pretty bare-bones little gadget, especially at the advertised price of all but $62,000.

It’s all about appeasing the gods of power-to-weight, so there’s no sat-nav, no reversing camera, no ashtray, no climate control (in fact, no air-con at all) and not even a radio for crying out loud. But don’t fret, the radio and air-con are delete options, so you can have them in your R just for asking.

On the other hand, you do get a suede tiller and cruise control, but you’ll soon discover that the shifter obscures the starter button and the other switchgear is all over the shop like a madman’s breakfast.

Renault Sport Megane RS275 Trophy R rear

The real magic of the Trophy-R, however, is the clever electronic front diff which gives the thing power-down that most cars – even rear-drivers – will never match. You can get into the power so much earlier than you thought possible that it takes a few laps to actually recalibrate your brain and work out what this little frawg can do.

And it’s not just power-down – there’s a stunning amount of corner grip and, therefore, corner speed to be had. So chasing the Megane down a twisty road is not going to be easy, even in some big-dollar fast cars.

Renault Sport Megane RS275 Trophy R interior

The Trophy is fitted with conventional retractable seatbelts, but I reckon I’d use the harnesses every time, just for the sense of occasion they bring to the deal. And that’s a large part of the magic of this car: every drive is going to be an occasion. It’s too sharp, too fast and too much fun to be any other way.

Renault Sport Megane RS275 Trophy-R front

THE NUMBERS 0-100km/h: 5.80sec (9th) 0-400m: 13.90sec @ 170.02km/h (9th) Lap Time: 1:38.3sec (6th)

Renault Sport Megane RS275 Trophy-R driving

David Morley: 3RD “To be frank, didn’t like the Megane RS much at first. But this one I love”

Scott Newman: 4th “Is this the best front-driver ever? If it’s not, it’s right up there. Compromised, but worth it”

Tim Robson: 8th “Predictable, lively, flattering and easy to punt with rewards there for the taking”

Warren Luff: 5th “For the ultimate front-drive hot hatch, nothing comes close. Even put big rear-drive V8s to shame”